New Zealand is located near the centre of the water hemisphere and is made up of two main islands and a number of smaller islands.

Its exclusive economic zone is one of the largest in the world, covering more than 15 times its land area. The South Island is the largest landmass of New Zealand and is the 12th largest island in the world.

It is divided along its length by the Southern Alps. The country owes its varied topography, and perhaps even its emergence above the waves, to the dynamic boundary it straddles between the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates.

This is now most evident in the Southern Alps, formed by compression of the crust beside the Alpine Fault. Elsewhere the plate boundary involves the subduction of one plate under the other, producing the Puysegur Trench to the south, the Hikurangi Trench east of the North Island, and the Kermadec and Tonga Trenches [] further north.

New Zealand is part of Australasia , and also forms the southwestern extremity of Polynesia. Rural scene near Queenstown.

The Emerald Lakes, Mt Tongariro. The southern and southwestern parts of the South Island have a cooler and cloudier climate, with around 1,—1, hours; the northern and northeastern parts of the South Island are the sunniest areas of the country and receive about 2,—2, hours.

South Island cities are warmest in January. Physical isolation has caused biological isolation, resulting in a dynamic evolutionary ecology with examples of very distinctive plants and animals as well as populations of widespread species.

New Zealand has an advanced market economy , [] ranked 16th in the [update] Human Development Index [8] and third in the [update] Index of Economic Freedom.

In the December quarter, the general unemployment rate was around 5. New Zealand is heavily dependent on international trade, [] particularly in agricultural products.

In , renewable energy , primarily geothermal and hydroelectric power , generated The provision of water supply and sanitation is generally of good quality.

Regional authorities provide water abstraction, treatment and distribution infrastructure to most developed areas.

The state-owned enterprise KiwiRail now operates the railways, with the exception of commuter services in Auckland and Wellington which are operated by Transdev [] and Metlink , [] respectively.

Railways run the length of the country, although most lines now carry freight rather than passengers. The New Zealand Post Office had a monopoly over telecommunications until when Telecom New Zealand was formed, initially as a state-owned enterprise and then privatised in The New Zealand census enumerated a resident population of 4,,, an increase of 5.

New Zealand is a predominantly urban country, with Life expectancy for New Zealanders in was 84 years for females, and In the census, Other major ethnic groups include Asian While the demonym for a New Zealand citizen is New Zealander, the informal " Kiwi " is commonly used both internationally [] and by locals.

Following colonisation, immigrants were predominantly from Britain, Ireland and Australia because of restrictive policies similar to the White Australia policy.

English is the predominant language in New Zealand, spoken by As recorded in the census, [] Samoan is the most widely spoken non-official language 2.

Christianity is the predominant religion in New Zealand, although its society is among the most secular in the world. Primary and secondary schooling is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16, with the majority attending from the age of 5.

The largely rural life in early New Zealand led to the image of New Zealanders being rugged, industrious problem solvers. The silver fern is an emblem appearing on army insignia and sporting team uniforms.

These buildings were originally designed to be constantly rebuilt, changing and adapting to different whims or needs.

During this period literature changed from a journalistic activity to a more academic pursuit. New Zealand music has been influenced by blues , jazz , country , rock and roll and hip hop , with many of these genres given a unique New Zealand interpretation.

Public radio was introduced in New Zealand in In the New Zealand Film Commission started assisting local film-makers and many films attained a world audience, some receiving international acknowledgement.

Most of the major sporting codes played in New Zealand have British origins. New Zealand has competitive international teams in rugby union , rugby league , netball , cricket , softball , and sailing.

New Zealand participated at the Summer Olympics in and as a joint team with Australia , before first participating on its own in From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This article is about the country. For other uses, see New Zealand disambiguation. For other uses, see NZ disambiguation. Constitutional monarchy in Oceania.

Location of New Zealand, including outlying islands, its territorial claim in the Antarctic , and Tokelau.

New Zealand place names. History of New Zealand. An early map of Australasia during the Golden Age of Dutch exploration c. Based on a chart by Joan Blaeu , c.

Map of the New Zealand coastline as Cook charted it on his first visit in — The track of the Endeavour is also shown.

Jacinda Ardern , current Prime Minister. International rankings of New Zealand. Environment of New Zealand. Atlas of New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons.

The Southern Alps stretch for kilometres down the South Island. Pencarrow Head , Wellington. Climate of New Zealand. Biodiversity of New Zealand.

Economy of New Zealand. List of companies of New Zealand. Demographics of New Zealand. New Zealanders and Immigration to New Zealand.

Languages of New Zealand. Religion in New Zealand. Irreligion in New Zealand. Culture of New Zealand.

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Retrieved 14 January Archived from the original on 29 December Rugby Australia , known as the Australian Rugby Union until , is the governing body of rugby union in Australia.

Rugby Australia has eight member unions, representing each state and territory. The original administrative body for rugby in Australia was the Southern Rugby Union, established in Sydney in The first British Isles team toured in and played 16 rugby matches in Australia as well as 18 matches of Victorian rules , later to become Australian football.

The match was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground and won 13—3 by Australia, but the tourists won the remaining three tests. New South Wales, as the senior union, was responsible for administration of the Australian team, including all tours, until the end of the s.

However, the various state unions agreed that the future of rugby union in Australia would be better served by having a national administrative body and so the Australian Rugby Football Union was formed at a conference in Sydney in , acting initially in an advisory capacity only.

The Northern Territory Rugby Union joined in , initially as an associate union before later being granted membership and voting rights.

Under the new constitution adopted in , the eight existing member unions and RUPA each provide a delegate who has one allocated vote.

Additionally, each of the Super Rugby teams also provide a delegate who has one allocated vote. At this stage, only the Rebels and Waratahs are independently administered so the votes for the other three teams are effectively controlled by the respective member unions that own each team.

Finally, any delegate from a member union with more than 50, registered players in their region is granted a second vote.

The then ARU simply allocated fourteen votes split as follows: Rugby Australia promotes and selects a Hall of Fame honouring notable former players.

Inductees are drawn from all Test teams starting with the first side in Hall of Fame members: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Redirected from Australian Rugby Union.

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